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Sore, Bleeding, Painful Nipples

Question:

I have been trying to bf my 9 day old daughter since birth but cant seem to latch her correctly. When shes on i can hear her swallowing regularly but its so excruciatingly painful I almost cant handle it. When i unlatch her my nipple is sandwiched or smooshed a weird way and she always needs a formula supplement. I had to pump only for 3 days bc my nipples were bleeding so bad and only just started latching her again but the pain and nipple sandwiching is coming back. Ive been to my hospital lactation consultant and she said were doing fine but I know something is wrong. I cant even latch her right now. Im so afraid im not going to be able to breastfeed. Any advice on how to get a good latch?

Re: Sore, Bleeding, Painful Nipples

Congrats on your new baby! Sounds like you're having a rough start though. It does sound like a latch issue if your nipple is mishapen when the baby comes off. Those are really easier to deal with in person. It doesn't matter if the latch looks good: if you're having pain, then something isn't right! Is there another lactation consultant you could see, preferably board certified (IBCLC)? you can look for one here http://www.iblce.org/ or can you call a local LLL leader for some advice? In the meantime, here's a good place for info on correct latch, with some videos http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/conte...agename=videos . It's a good idea to 'sandwich' the breast to get a large amount of areola in along with your nipple, and to aim your nipple towards the baby's nose so you get more of the bottom of the areola in than the top (an asymmetric latch).
Dr. Newman's all-purpose nipple cream might be a good thing to get (you need a script for it) to help your nipples heal and hopefully prevent any nasty bugs from taking hold while your nipples have open areas on them. Just google Dr. Newman APNO.

Re: Sore, Bleeding, Painful Nipples

Ive been to my hospital lactation consultant and she said were doing fine but I know something is wrong.

She said you are doing fine knowing you can not latch due to the pain and are supplementing? That is pretty much the definition of not fine. If something has changed since you saw the lc, you have to let her know and get seen again by her or someone else.

Latch pain is common. It does not mean you will not be able to nurse your baby. But this sounds particularly severe. I agree with pp, you want competent hands on help ASAP.

Meanwhile

If you cannot nurse at all, you must pump with a double electric pump, preferably hospital grade, AT LEAST 8 times a day for your milk production.
You have to feed baby. As much as possible, with your own pumped milk. If you are not nursing at all, you want to goive supplements in a way that is as much like breastfeeding as possible. This means, feed baby VERY small amounts at a time, no more than 2 ounces at a time, about 12 times a day, Feed when baby cues rather than on a scedule (assuming baby cues often enough) and consider alternatives to bottles. If bottle feeding, use paced bottle feeding to slow feedings down.
If baby is nursing and swallowing at the breast, why do you say she needs an ounce of formula? Just because she drinks it does not mean she needs it.

OK here are my favorite latch and positioning ideas. See if any of this is something you have not tried. Also, sometimes it takes trying the same things several times before it 'clicks'